


C+ For Creativity

by Treble (Treblesanders)



Series: Liquid Traits [1]
Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders, logicality - Fandom
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, self deprecation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-26 12:29:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12557412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Treblesanders/pseuds/Treble
Summary: Logan tries to make himself more creative but things don't work out in a way he expects.





	1. Chapter 1

What was he doing? Why did he seemingly care so much about making amends with Patton? Was it all just some pointless venture?

_No…_

He needed to do this. Patton deserved to be treated with the utmost care and Logan would do what he could to achieve this.

However, his ability to be creative was nonexistent. That was Roman’s department. He did have an alternative option though. Perhaps now was the best time to try it out.

Logan’s eyes swept over his room to a small chest sitting on the floor. His brow slowly raised in a skeptical expression. He then stood up from his desk and walked over to the chest. As he got to the small locked box he hesitated. Was this really the most sensible option? His thoughts went through numerous outcomes and all of them lead back to the choice he was about to make. Yes, this was really the only viable path for him to take. With that thought he took in a deep breath and sighed.

Kneeling down next to the chest he unlocked it and lifted the lid. Inside were three bottles filled with different liquids. He had spent many a night working on these, trying to make sure each one matched the trait or emotion he lacked.

He reached a hand in and plucked out a bottle with this burnt orange color liquid inside. The container sat in his hand as he stared at it, a deep frown playing on his normally calm features. With a quick motion he uncapped the top and brought the bottle to his lips.

_Bottoms up…_

He downed the orange liquid as quickly as possible. The drink held a nasty aftertaste but he kept composed and did not let himself dwell on the flavor.

For a moment he just stayed there and waited for some kind of change to happen. After a few minutes he let out a noise of frustration and stood up. He walked back towards his desk but stopped just short of reaching his chair.

Something was wrong, he suddenly felt light headed and the room was beginning to spin. Next thing Logan felt was his body falling forward. He tried to brace himself on his chair, but lost his grip and collapsed onto the floor with a loud thud. He made a desperate grasp for the door but his strength was gone.

 _Patton, Roman, Virgil… I’m sorry…_ Logan barely whispered the words before everything faded to black.

All the sides suddenly felt a small tug. Patton was the first to rise up next to Logan’s door, a worried look on his face. Next was Roman who gave Patton his ‘I’m ready for battle’ expression. Finally, Virgil came slowly walking down the hall, fear dominated his features.

Patton raised a hand and knocked softly on Logan’s door. “Logan? Are you okay? Did something happen?” He waited for some kind of reply but only silence answered back. The group was getting more tense and concerned by the second. Morality shared a look with everyone before nodding his head and opening the door.

What Patton saw stopped him dead in his tracks. There was Logan, unconscious on the ground, an empty bottle laid next to his outstretched hand. He inhaled sharply and let out a cry “No, Logan… Please…” Patton sprinted over to him and knelt down to gently roll Logan onto his back.

Roman and Virgil were standing awkwardly in the doorway unsure of what to do. Princey had a hand over his mouth and Virgil was shaking like a leaf. “Patton… Wh-what should we do?” Virgil finally found his voice though it was just as shaky as him.

Patton had taken Logan’s hand in his own and was now brushing it gently with his thumb. He looked up at the two traits standing in the doorway and made a tough decision. “Roman, Virgil, go check on Thomas for me. Make sure he is doing alright, AND be sure to comfort him if he isn’t.”

The others looked like they were going to protest, but Patton shut them down with a stern expression. They both sheepishly shook their head and sunk down out of the mindspace.

Everything was deathly still. Patton tried to shake Logan awake, call his name, anything he could think of. None of it seemed to work. Patton’s eyes fell to the bottle that had been cast aside. He grabbed it and turned the glass container over in his hand. It was empty save for a small drop of burnt orange liquid.

What was in this? Patton brought the bottle close to his face and sniffed the top. It smelled like fresh vegetables, and Roman’s room, mixed with a hint of pizza? That’s odd.

Patton looked up and scanned the room. That’s when he noticed the open chest sitting in the corner. Putting down the bottle he stood up and walked over to the chest. Looking inside the small wooden box he saw two other glass bottles and an empty space.

The empty section had a small label that read Creativity. Patton reached in and picked up one of the other bottles that had a deep blue liquid in it. Under the bottle was a label that read Emotions.

A bad feeling was starting to build at the back of Patton’s mind. He opened the bottle in his hand then immediately closed it again. The smell almost made him cough. It was a mix of Patton’s room, wet dog, and blood. Why blood? Why were these bottles filled with liquids pertaining to Patton, Roman, and Virgil in the first place? He placed the bottle back inside the chest and closed it. His eyes now swept back over to Logan who hadn’t even moved a muscle. Was he trying to give himself the characteristics that he lacked? If so, something had obviously gone horribly wrong.

—————————————

Logan woke up surrounded by darkness. He groaned and pushed himself up into a sitting position. _Where am I?_ He looked around but there was nothing to be seen no matter which direction he turned.

 _What happened?_ He tried to remember what had brought him here. Memories quickly flashed through his mind. A gift for Patton, lacking creativity, making his own, drinking the creative liquid then everything had faded to black.

Something wasn’t right about this. Why had his experiment not worked? He must not have taken an important variable into account.

_Just another foolish oversight on my part I guess. I shall have to be more careful next time. Now, how do I get out of here?_

_You don’t._ The darkness answered back and with it came a crippling weight of uselessness that forced Logan to cry out and curl in on himself. He suddenly felt cold, lonely, and the gravity of what had gone wrong with his experiment hit him like a ton of bricks.

_You’re just useless and a waste of space, how could you ever make them happy…_

The drink hadn’t made him creative, in fact, it had done the opposite. All of his sense of purpose and productivity was gone. How was he to get out of this negative head space feeling like this?


	2. Chapter 2

As Logan suffered within his own personal headspace things began to happen back in his room. 

Patton jumped as everything shook a little causing books and knickknacks to be tossed from their shelves. Each trait’s room was a reflection of its owner, so right now, Logan was not his usual calm and organized self. 

Morality had to take action quickly. The room luckily was still offering its logical atmosphere to him. This allowed him to come to a quick resolution for what needed to be done. In a swift motion he scooped Logan’s still unconscious body up into his arms and sprinted from the room. When the two entered the hallway Patton heard a sound that sent shivers down his spine. He spun on his heels to see what had caused it and the sight only scared him more. One of Logan’s bookshelves had ripped itself apart and large shards of wood were now embedded deep into the floor; where Logan and Patton had been not seconds ago.

Logan’s room shook once more then the door slammed shut leaving the Moral and Logical trait in an eerie silence. Patton was trying to calm down from the fear that had just wracked his body. He could hear his own heart racing as it pounded loudly in his ears. His breath was coming in large gasps and it was hard for him to get the image of those wooden shards sticking up from the floor out of his head. Logan and him could have been erased from Thomas’s mind if he had been even a second slower.

With a significant amount of effort Patton forced himself to steady his breathing and focus on helping Logan. He closed his eyes and took slow controlled breaths, in for four seconds then out for another four seconds. 

“This is just awful. Logan, I wish you were here. Everything is only going to get worse isn’t it?” He spoke out loud in a feeble attempt to get some kind of response from his logical counterpart.

No reply came as Logan hung limply in Patton’s arms. Letting out a loud disheartened sigh he walked down the hall and into the common area. He gently placed the logical trait down on the couch and sat next to him. Patton then maneuvered himself in such a way so as to have Logan’s head resting in his lap. He now took the opportunity to softly pet Logic’s hair as he waited patiently for Roman and Virgil to return. 

Ten or so minutes later Roman returned with a somber expression playing upon his face. “Patton, things are all out of sorts with our dear Thomas. He's acting like a child and seems to be fumbling in his ability to make coherent sentences.” The fanciful trait waltzed into the common area and took a seat across from Patton. His eyes dropped to look at Logan. He looked so peaceful, like he was just sleeping, but Roman knew some kind of war was playing out in the Logical trait’s mind. _Please come back to us, Logan. We need you._

This news didn't surprise Patton but it did add to his state of worry. “Where is Virgil? Did he stay behind?” He lifted his eyes and peered over at Roman who was bouncing a knee in a desperate attempt to distract himself. 

“Huh?” Roman stopped bouncing his knee and snapped his attention back up to Patton. “Oh, yes, Virgil did indeed stay behind to look after Thomas while we try to get Logan back. By the by, did you happen to figure out what made Logan fall unconscious?” His tone held the hint of a deeper question but he didn't want to openly voice those concerns.

“Actually, I have some idea. I think he was trying to give himself characteristics that are normally reserved for you, Roman.” 

Roman’s eyes grew wide. “What exactly do you mean? We aren't made to handle traits other than the ones already given to us.”

Patton cleared his throat. “Well, when we were in his room I found a chest with numerous glass bottles. The one he had drunk from was labeled Creativity. The other bottles were labeled Emotions and Anxiety. Make of it what you will. I think drinking the creative liquid had an adverse effect. I can't say for sure though.” He paused and shifted a little. “His room almost killed us, we barely got out in time before everything ripped itself apart.”

The last remark caused Roman’s breath to catch in his throat. “What!? His room threw itself into chaos?” He suddenly realized what must have happened. “You know what? I think what's going on is rather obvious. The creative drink must be having an opposite effect on him. It's the only thing that makes sense to me. Other than disorganization what is the opposite of being creative?”

A moment passed before both Roman and Patton shared a look and said the words at the same time. 

“Being useless!”

\---------------------------------

Logan had clasped both hands over his ears, as if that could stop the negative thoughts from assaulting his mind. 

_‘Look at you, PATHETIC! You should learn your place. You mean nothing to them. You'll always be a useless know-it-all.’_

_No…_ Logan didn't want to listen. He wanted to leave this area that felt so much like a nightmare. He wanted to take back what he had done.

_‘You don't solve problems, you just cause them.’_

_Stop it…_ He shook his head and clenched his teeth. His whole body had tensed as he gripped his hair. Even blatant disappointment from the others would have been more bearable than this. 

_‘How could someone like you ever hope to be creative, you're just a waste of space.’_

“No, stop it, PLEASE! This… This isn't what I wanted…” Logan almost screamed the words as tears started to stream down his face. “I only wanted to make Patton happy.” A choked sob left his lips. “That’s all I wanted to do… To make him a gift and apologize…” He fell onto his side and curled into the fetal position. His eyes were closed tightly and he was slowly rocking back and forth. “Why did things have to go so wrong?”

Then, in a small act of pity, The darkness finally provided him with a moment of clarity. _‘Because, you tried to do the unthinkable, now you’re paying the price.’_

Logan snapped his eyes open. _So this is what happens when I try to be like the others? Well, at least now I know. However, It doesn’t currently assist me in getting any closer to a resolution for this problem._

“Patton, Roman, Virgil… Please, help… I..I can’t do this by myself. I’m not strong enough.” He was trapped in his own head and so desperate for someone to come to his aid. 

A new onslaught of negative thoughts suddenly tore through his mind and he cried out once more.

“HELP ME!”


	3. Chapter 3

Patton and Roman continued to share a look of worry when all of a sudden Logan said something to the extent of ‘help...me…’ in a soft whisper. They both shifted their attention to the Logical trait who appeared to still be asleep.

“Did...did he just say something?” Roman was hopeful that his ears had not betrayed him. He stood up and walked over to kneel next to Logan.

“I think he just said help me.” Patton stopped petting Logan's hair and looked at Roman. “If we're right, if the drink has tampered with his basic characteristics then how do we get him back?” He desperately wanted to fix this but problem solving was normally left for Logan, not him.

“Perhaps talking to him could help? I doubt the drink was meant to last forever. So, maybe if we ensure him that he isn't useless that could be enough to guide him back?” Roman lifted a hand and placed it upon Logan's shoulder all while keeping his attention on Patton.

“I’m open to trying anything at this point.” Morality admitted this while looking completely dejected. “I just want Logan back in one piece.”

Roman moved his hand from Logan’s shoulder and placed it on Patton’s knee. “Hey, don’t be so disheartened.” His voice was calm and reassuring. “We’ll get him back, just need to have a little faith in ourselves.” With that Roman gave Patton a large grin and looked back at Logan.

\---------------------------------

Meanwhile, Virgil had his hands full with trying to deal with Thomas. Their host had already bruised himself multiple times because his coordination and spacial awareness were impaired. Anxiety had spent a significant amount of time trying to convince Thomas to sit still and not hurt himself anymore. What also made it hard was that Thomas couldn’t seem to make a coherent sentence. Everything he said just came out all jumbled. Virgil had no idea just how much Logan contributed to Thomas’s ability in simply functioning like a normal human being. 

As it was, Virgil was getting a bit burnt out and had started to worry that Logan was never going to come back. _Did he leave us on purpose? I bet he did… He just hated being here and didn’t want anything to do with us._ Virgil’s thoughts were growing more negative by the second. He was about to sink into the mindspace when Thomas finally said something he could understand.

“I..I’m useless… No one… No one will help...me…” Thomas slouched forward and started to cry.

Virgil snapped back to reality and took a moment to process what had just been said. _I didn’t make him say that. It must of been Logan. The others were fine earlier._ He decided he would risk heading back to Patton, Roman and Logan and see what was going on.

As he returned to the mindspace Virgil was surprised to find everyone hanging out in the living room. “Hey, what’s going on? I thought you were helping Logan in his room.” His eyes quickly darted between Roman and Patton before they came to rest on Logan who was still unconscious.

Patton looked up at Virgil and sighed. “Well, I was.” He let out a noise of frustration. “That is until his room tried to erase us from Thomas’s mind.” His attention shifted back to Logan before he continued talking. “Roman and I are pretty sure that Logan drunk an experimental mixture he made for himself. It was labeled Creativity, and it was only one of three. There were two other bottles with similar liquids inside. One was labeled Emotions and the other one was Anxiety-”

Roman then interjected. “Yes, Patton and I think that Logan was trying to give himself characteristics similar to me. Even though I appreciate his attempts at flattery, I know that trying such a feat would not work. In Logan’s case what seems to of happened is his creative drink has brought about the opposite effect. He’s currently trapped in his own personal headspace, and needs help getting out.”

Virgil was cemented in place and just blinked a couple times, confusion clear on his face. “What? That was a lot of information for me to take in all at once.” He then shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “So, Logan’s room is in chaos and Logan is too. Is that the gist of it?”

Roman was a bit annoyed that Virgil only wanted a short summary, but he was not surprised. “Yes, Virgil, that is the ‘gist’ of it.” He sighed and waved his free hand dismissively. 

“Alright, so do we have a plan to bring him back?” Virgil was equally annoyed with the whole situation. He crossed both arms over his chest and fixed Roman with an impatient glare.

“Our plan, was to do the only thing we can.” Patton spoke up once more. “We need to try and talk him through this experience and ultimately guide him back home.” He sincerely hoped that the plan would come to fruition; because there were really no other options but to wait out the drink’s effects.

“Okay, well, let’s do it then.” Virgil plopped down in a chair next to Patton and leaned over the armrest. “Who’s going to start?”

Patton volunteered to go first and spent a couple minutes telling Logan about all the times he helped Thomas and the others come to some kind of resolution on multiple difficult problems. Logan made a small hum sound and nuzzled into Patton’s leg. This in turn made Patton smile down at him as he gently caressed his cheek. Maybe this would work after all.

Roman then used his turn to talk to Logan about all the adventures and fun experiences he had help plan. Without him Thomas would have forgotten a lot of important steps along the way and possibly made a fool of himself. Logan seemed to let out a soft chuckle and a smile curled his lips. Roman was content to get even such a small reaction out of his Logical comrade. 

Virgil was hesitant to start talking at first. Comfort wasn’t really his area of expertise but for Logan he would try his best. He then slowly, quietly, started to tell Logan just how important he was to Thomas, and to him. How without him Thomas wasn’t able to function like a normal person. He also told Logan how much Virgil and the others needed him. How sad, lost, and confused they all were without him there. Logan’s smile turned into a quivering lip as a single tear rolled down his cheek. Virgil was instantly worried he had said something wrong. He was going to apologize when something amazing happened...

Logan woke up...


	4. Chapter 4

The logical trait groaned in discomfort and sat up. It felt like someone had taken a blunt object and bashed his brain in. He winced as a throbbing pain assaulted his mind. “Ugh, perhaps there are worse things than negative thoughts.” He spoke out loud expecting the usual negativity to answer back, but none came. Instead, he heard the sound of some very familiar voices.

“LOGAN!” 

All the sides had cried out in unison, which in turn made Logic jump a little. He opened his eyes and almost cried at the sight of everyone there watching him with a mix of concern and excitement playing on their features. In the next moment, he was pulled into a strong hug by Patton who started to cry into his shoulder. Logan froze in place, eyes going wide, he looked like someone trying not to set off an alarm. 

“Logan, we missed you, I missed you. We were so-so worried that you weren't coming back.” Patton let all of his feelings pour out while he squeezed Logan even tighter. He was so overwhelmed with the flood of emotions, that it was hard for him to accurately convey just how much he had missed his logical counterpart.

“You...you missed me?” Logan found the whole concept of being needed a little hard to swallow right now. The negative thoughts still lingered in his mind, and he couldn't help but feel that this whole situation was his fault. Because, let's be honest, it was his fault and he knew it. Still, it was comforting to be held by Patton in such a loving way. He managed to finally bring himself to reciprocate the hug with his own strong embrace around Morality. 

Roman watched the two with a smile. He wanted to join the hug but he knew that Patton had been hurt the most by Logan's absence. It was best to simply let the two hold each other for a bit. “Logan, I too want to express how glad I am to have you returned to us in one piece.” 

A question weighed heavily on Virgil’s mind and he wasn’t sure when would be a good time to ask it. He didn’t want to kill the mood, but they all deserved some answers. “Logan?” His voice was quiet and a little shaky.

Logan looked over at the anxious trait. “Hmm? What is it, Virgil?” 

“Did you actually make experimental liquids pertaining to each of us?” Virgil was obviously scared about the implications behind if and why he would do such a thing.

Logan’s expression grew very neutral all of a sudden. “I see that my chest of liquid traits was discovered while I was incapacitated.” His tone held a note of disappointment though it was hard to tell who that was directed at. “To put it plainly, yes. I did, in fact, concoct such substances. I did so with the intention to help tackle problems I wasn’t equipped to handle. Or...I guess, in this case, to help me fix a problem that I didn’t want to bother asking for help on.” He let go of Patton and gently pulled away. “I see now that it was a mistake to try and give myself traits I do not have claim to.” His hands came to rest in his lap as he intertwined the fingers. He looked down, the feelings of guilt and shame gnawed at his insides, and it was so hard to hold back the unwanted emotions. 

“Logan, look at me.” Patton placed a hand gently on top of Logan’s and came to kneel down in front of him. “We don’t expect you to be the creative one, the anxious one, or the emotional one. We love you for you. You’re amazing just the way you are. I’m sorry if I ever made you doubt your importance.” He then squeezed Logan’s hand.

“Please don’t hesitate to ask us for help next time. We may joke around and tease each other once in awhile, but that doesn’t change the fact that we are here for you if ever you need us.” Roman smiled at Logan and did his iconic heroic pose. This made Logan chuckle a little out of amusement.

“Also, Logan, please remember that you are more than just Thomas’s ability to problem solve. You also contribute to his basic human functions too, like talking, spatial awareness, and coordination.” Virgil chimed in with his own personal addition since he got to witness the effects of Logan’s absence first hand. Maybe in the future, as a way to lighten the mood, he would tell Logan about what happened while he was away.

Logan’s neutral expression faltered and he let himself smile. “Thank you, everyone. I am sincerely sorry for having worried you all so much. Now, if you would excuse me. I think I shall go and get some rest in my room.” He leaned forward and shoved off the couch. As he moved towards the hallway everyone leapt up and blocked his way. 

“WAIT!” They all yelled in unison once again.

This made Logan pause and stare at the three sides with a perplexed expression. “Or not.” He blinked and then crossed both arms over his chest. “Is there some obvious step that I missed, or did you all still need something from me?”

Roman, Patton, and Virgil shared a worried look with each other then looked back at Logan. Morality was the first to speak up. “Your room may not be exactly how you left it…” He hesitated with the next words. “While you were unconscious everything in your room started to rip itself apart. I barely got you and I out of there. I’m not sure if it’s safe for you to go back in just yet.” Patton bounced in place nervously.

“Ah, I see.” Logan lifted up one hand to adjust his glasses. “A rather unpleasant turn of events.” He let out a sigh and used his free hand to hold his chin. “Well, unfortunately, we won’t know if it has calmed down in there unless we check. So, let’s go have a look.” 

The others were still worried, but Logan was correct, they needed to see for themselves if it was safe to return or not. As such, the group of four wandered down the hall and came to a halt just outside of Logan’s room. Most of them expected the space to be in complete disarray except for Logan who was confident that everything was back to normal. As the logical trait opened his door everyone let out a sigh of relief. 

The room had been restored to it’s usual clean and organized state. The bookshelves were in one piece. The bed was made. His desk had all of its pens and papers in the same place as when Logan last saw them. It was almost like he had never left at all. 

With a deep breath in Logan felt glad to be back. “Since everything appears to be in order…” He casted a glance over his shoulder at the others. “I think I will do what I mentioned earlier and take a nice rest. Thank you, again, for all of your assistance in bringing me back.” His gaze turned back to his room. “I promise, from now on, to ask for your help more often.” 

“Alright, Logan, get some rest.” Roman smiled at Logan and then walked down the hall to his room. 

“You earned it.” Virgil gave Logic a casual salute before heading off to his room.

“We love you, let us know if you need anything.” Patton walked forward and gave Logan one last hug before letting go and running down the hall.

Logan froze once more. It would take him time before he could fully accept such displays of affection from Patton. For now though, he certainly appreciated the sentiment. A small smile touched his lips as he watched Patton leave down the hall. With a content sigh he closed the door to his room and turned around. _Now, for some much deserved rest._ As he moved over to his bed something odd caught his eye. There was only one thing out of place in his room. The chest of traits was still open but, all three bottles were missing. This seemed rather curious to Logan however he assumed one of the other sides had hid them or thrown them out. Either way, their disappearance was probably for the best. He chose not to dwell on it and instead laid down on his bed. 

So, while his eyes slowly slipped close, he had only one thought on his mind. He finally felt at home. Finally felt like he was where he belonged, and that he once again, had purpose. 

The End.


End file.
